‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1919-20’ [‎288r] (123/192)

■ in lrl 11
1919 - 1920 .] .......... ... ...jEAbih
Chapter IV.
production
AND
DISTRIBUTION.
which mostly consisted of dates from Basra and other dried fruits from
Portuguese Bast (Per.) A Persian custom allowing an individual to seek asylum at a designated location. Africa, "were valued at Its. 3'51 laklrs as against Bs. 1*7 laklr
Foreign trade.
in the previous year. There were no exports to foreign ports.
2 More than half the coasting trade of the subordinate ports is with the Coasting trad.,
port of Bombay. Imports advanced by about Bs. 1 crore Equivalent to ten million, or one hundred lakhs. Used especially in connection with money (rupees). to Bs. 5 crores owing
chiefly to larger arrivals of nee from Bombay and some direct shipments from
Burma. Exports also advanced by Bs. 69 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees to Bs. 3'73 crores. This
advance is also due to larger shipments of paddy to ports in Madras and to the
distribution of t tee among the subordinate ports. Bor statistical purposes the
subordinate ports of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper are divided into five ranges, namely
Kanara, Ratnagiri, Uran, Tirana and Surat. There was an increase of'Bs. 1‘74
crore Equivalent to ten million, or one hundred lakhs. Used especially in connection with money (rupees). in the total trade of these ranges. Ivatnagiri, Uran, Kanara and Tirana
showed increases of Bs. 82 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , Bs. 49 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , Bs. 40 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees and Bs. 21 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
respectively, while Surat recorded a decrease of Bs. 18 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . Rpmes are the
principal articles of trade in Kanara; cocoanut, dried fruits, grain, pulse and
jltMT and salt in Batnagiri; rice, salt and gunny bags in Uran ; lime, fish and salt
in Thana; and cocoanuts, raw cotton and ivood in Surat.
T m -x—v
Information under this head is not given for this year under the orders
crores to Es. 62‘2 crores. Foreign imports and exports increased by
ik 8 crores and by Es. 4*4 crores, respectively. The coasting trade rose by
its. 7*93 crores owing mainly to large imports of Indian piece-goods and record
exports io Bombay of raw cotton eventually to be shipped thence to foreign
despnations. The outstanding features of the year’s foreign trade, the value of
Miick advanced by Es. 4*39 crores or by 12*4 per cent., were a great expansion
o imports, which attained a record value, and a serious decline in exports.
1 lie former was the natural result of the conclusion of hostilities ; the release
oi smps factories and men from war work and the removal of war restrictions
aciiitated the execution of orders, and the prosperity of India, despite the
ailuie of the 1918 monsoon, enabled importers to buy, even though prices, with
^eiy few exceptions, continued to soar. But the port of Karachi, which
]i ™' pre-eminently an export centre, was badly hit by the prohibition
Mien the Government of India found it necessary to maintain throughout the
war on the export of food-grains owing to the prevailing high prices and the
e petion of stocks caused by the calamitous weakness of the 1918 rains. As
ail example the case of tvheat need only be mentioned. In the year 1904-05
0 far short of a million and a half tons were exported from Karachi. In the
)eai under report only 5,500 tons were shipped, and nearly 30,000 tons were
m ^ im P or ted from Australia. The total value of private exports of Indian
L°n Uce an ^ manufactures, despite high prices, amounted to less than half that
net 1° leCOr ^ ^ ear 1912 - 13 , and. the figure would have been still worse had there
mo a ^ ar ^ e ex pansion in the shipments oi raw hides and shins ) seeds and
of th C ' r l^ e import trade was brisker in the second than in the first half
losiilt ^ ear an ^ particularly heavy during the last quarter, a not unnatural
the m V * eW ^ le r ising exchange. In the case of exports the first half of
dec /- *T as rather the better. Exports fell away in January 1920 and
short t ' ^rti 161 m February. This however v 7 as due more to a temporary
PubHe^f* ' i- re i&hl than to the dislocation of exchange which followed the
highe tv? 11 Curren cy 'Committee’s report, and the March figures were
the offi * 1 n ^ ose any other nionth in the year except one. By the close of
cial year prices of food-grains had at last shown signs of declining.
wmm
nHHHMHH